Logan stared blankly at the noble whose name he still didn't know.
"I refuse." He replied bluntly before walking into his dormitory and then his room.
Entering his room, Logan stretched his exhausted body and crashed onto his bed.
He closed his eyes to let the sweet allure of sleep consume him but before he could, someone knocked on his door.
Groaning and dragging his feet, Logan went to the door to see who it was, and much to his surprise and detriment, it was Orion.
'There goes my plan to sleep.' He sighed aloud.
"Why'd you sigh?" Orion entered his room and laid on his bed.
"Nothing serious." He replied as he sat at one of the desks.
"So is it true? That guy whose nose you smashed in challenged you to a royal duel?" Orion's eyes somewhat sparkled from excitement.
"Yes and did you hear that I rejected it?" Logan replied with mock enthusiasm.
"You can't reject it." Orion frowned slightly.
"Yes, I can and I did." Logan maintained his standing firmly.
"No, I mean that you can't. You really can not." His conversation partner countered in a worrying tone.
"What? Which of academic rules state that?" Logan asked as he brought out his tablet and started scrolling through the rules of the academy.
"Things like the Royal Duel are not part of the school rules but the kingdom's. You must duel him." Orion tried his best to explain.
"What kind of bullshit is that?" Logan scoffed.
"So you're telling me I can approach a random stranger on the road and invoke a royal duel?" He asked in a slightly higher crescendo.
"It's only royals and nobles that can invoke such and in accordance with the rules, the loser must do anything the winner asks them to do." Orion continued to list the terms of the duel.
"This just seems like another seamless ploy of those higher-ups to both suppress and control those below them." Logan's clenched fists turned white as his nails threatened to pierce his skin.
There were many things the noble could ask of him that would ruin his future. Asking him to drop out of the academy was easily one of them.
Despite how much he wanted to escape the net of being oppressed, he seemed to only entangle himself further.
"The royal court itself appears to have issues that need to be fixed. It's not just the citizens." Logan seethed through his teeth.
"Whoa. Watch who you say that around. They might take you in and kill you for threatening the crown or some other pointless claim." Orion tapped Logan's shoulder.
"Just meet him and finalize the details of the duel. I trust you. I mean what's the worst that can happen?" He laughed a bit at the end but was met with a glare from Logan.
"Dude, jinxes aren't real. Hahaha. You'll do great and when you win, ask for his family's wealth. That'll show them." Orion laughed as he exited Logan's room.
Logan inhaled sharply before leaving his room to meet the noble. Luckily, he was where he was previously.
"I see you've finally done some research. Hehe." A sly laughter left his lips that Logan was fighting all compulsion to punch.
"If the reason you came to meet me is what I think it is, just know that the duel is tomorrow. I've made arrangements to ensure that the entire school can watch." A wise smile spread across his face.
Logan left the noble to his room but managed to catch a sentence, "Rest and prepare for tomorrow. You'll need it." His voice contained humor.
Logan ignored him and went to bed.
*******
Logan woke up at the crack of dawn and got ready for the day's curriculum.
He attended all his classes and even had lunch.
After the last class of the day, he noticed students gathering amid the six buildings that comprised the entire academy.
Knowing the reason, he just followed them and waited until everyone was there.
A figure walked towards the crowd- Aaron.
"Vic- The headmaster is on a business trip of sorts, so I am to oversee this Royal Duel." Aaron yawned and stretched.
A small rectangular object appeared in his hand, he squeezed it and a wave of blinding light consumed everyone present.
Logan felt the contraction and expansion of space he had grown quite familiar with.
When the blinding light receded, the students found themselves in a mountainous region with a large earthen platform in the center.
Seats surrounded it like some kind of a coliseum.
"This is where we usually have competitions but our noble friend here rented it for his duel," Aaron spoke before gesturing at Logan and the young noble.
"Head to the platform and as for the rest of you, take your seats." He instructed and the people addressed complied.
Logan climbed the stairs that led to the platform.
Aaron waved his hand a barrier made of golden energy appeared.
"This is just a safety precaution to prevent any issues of 'collateral damage' as regards the duel." Aaron reassured the students.
"Now, without further ado, BEGIN!" Aaron yelled to the two inside the barrier.
Logan squatted and leaned forward, the noble had brown streaks so he was mentally preparing for spells of the earth element.
The noble, much to the surprise of everyone, burst into deranged laughter.
The tone slowly climbed in pitch until it became nearly unbearable to listen to.
"I have waited four months for this. WE willenjoy this." His voice broke into multiple.
Aaron tried to react but it was too late.
Grey energy burst out of his body, and some of it attached itself to the barrier.
Most escaped it and gathered forming a humanoid figure that cackled before slamming into the Death Magus and flying them into the mountains in the distance.
The rest stayed on the noble's body.
Logan turned around as soon as he heard the sound of fighting in the distance and that was his mistake.
The noble-no, the entity vanished from where he was and appeared in the air.
Its legs spun to kick Logan. He managed to catch a glimpse of its shadow and tried to dodge.
Tried.
Its toes brushed against Logan's chest and sent him crashing to the ground.
When its foot landed on the ground, something unexpected happened.
The world creaked and groaned as a tremendous boom rocked the earth and created shockwaves.
Mountains in the distance crumbled into fine dust.
As the dust that rose settled, Logan could be seen lying in a crater.
He opened his mouth and coughed up blood as he slowly stood up and observed his surroundings.
He could see the panic on people's faces, he could see them screaming yet all he could hear was a high-pitched ringing.
He stared at the barrier that separated him from them in confusion.
"What's happening?" He asked aloud, at least he thought he did. He couldn't hear himself.
The people began moving erratically, pointing towards different directions.
'Dog-no, dodge. Why are they telling me to dodge?' He pondered but followed suit anyway.
As soon as he moved away, the entity appeared and punched where his head was.
The simple motion of swinging its fist generated wind currents that threw him away.
Logan stumbled but managed to get his footing before skidding to a stop.
The entity in question had a humanoid physique with a body that was covered in grey wisps of energy that slithered as though they were alive.
'What the hell?' The boy wondered as the entity blurred and vanished.
It appeared in front of him and threw a punch to his stomach that connected and sent him hitting the other end of the barrier.
'How exactly did I end up here?' He wondered as he saw the figure lean forward.
'Yes I remember, it was only six months ago that I found that crystal.' He hissed in his mind.
It vanished and appeared in front of him in an instant.